Buyer Success Story: SeaCrest Oceanfront Lodge
Perched excessive atop a bluff overlooking the Central California coast is the SeaCrest Oceanfront Lodge. Celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this yr, SeaCrest is positioned alongside 5 acres of Pismo Seashore sands and is well-known for its relaxed and pleasant beachside environment.
In February of 2022, SeaCreast determined to strive ROOMDEX Automated Upselling. Initially they cautious about altering their guide upselling procedures and skeptical that an automatic answer would not trigger operational issues.
Thankfully, the choice has paid off. Since activating ROOMDEX, their lodge upsell income has grown month over month. We just lately caught up with Jed Bickle, Normal Supervisor and Heidi Kamas, Assistant Normal Supervisor to seek out out precisely how the ROOMDEX upsell system is performing, do they nonetheless have operational issues, and what would they are saying to different hotelier who may be uncertain about attempting automated upsell software program.
When or how did your crew first come throughout ROOMDEX? What was your response once you first noticed and heard about it?
Jed: I heard about it by way of somebody who had beforehand labored for our PMS firm. He reached out to me straight and mentioned “Hey Jed, I’ve obtained this nice income administration product, I believe you’d actually, actually prefer it. I believe it will work nice on your property in your market and if you need, I will allow you to strive it without spending a dime for a month.” I believed, “oh, free income?” and since I actually belief this man, so we gave a shot.
Previous to ROOMDEX, how did you deal with upselling?
Jed: We had an electronic mail advertising firm that does our electronic mail surveys and stuff. They’d an choice the place we might ship out emails at predetermined intervals, providing potential upgrades – however they did not hook up with our PMS. It was actually simply easy advertising.
Company would get an electronic mail saying, “Would you like an improve?… however the entrance desk goes to have to substantiate that that improve’s even out there.” So, in the event that they clicked on it and we’d obtain a response electronic mail. However we’re at all times so busy, so we by no means actually obtained the e-mail in “actual time.” As soon as somebody had the time, they’d undergo the emails after which they must see if the improve may be out there. Then, they must transfer the room and cost the improve or put a observe for anyone later to cost the improve. It was a little bit of a laborious course of, and in instances the place we’re actually busy, the improve might have been out there when the visitors requested it the night time earlier than, however by the point we obtained to it, it is not out there – and now you’ve got disenchanted them.
Did you’re feeling restricted with that upsell course of?
Jed: As I discussed, the large limitation was taking the time to see if we would have the provision to grant their request. However the different problem in counting on a manually intensive upsell program is just the labor problem. Sadly, you do get lots of turnover on this enterprise and when you’ve got new folks, it’s important to practice them – how you can promote an upsell on the desk (and to even bear in mind to do it!). Plus there may be the e-mail advertising facet, how you can test the e-mail, how you can decide on granting requests and so on. So, sure, coaching and turnover gradual the system down significantly.
With Automated Upselling in place, what affect have you ever seen in your workers’s workload?
Heidi: We’re simply so used to it. It does all of the upselling by itself. There’s actually nothing we have to do. We often test the notes to observe the exercise, however now every part is so automated that we form of overlook about it!
Beforehand we have been always checking the e-mail to verify we’re answering the upgrades, ensuring we get involved with the visitors to allow them to know if it is out there nonetheless or not, how a lot the worth is, ensuring the cost really will get added. However with ROOMDEX it does all that routinely – it is very nice. I do must say when it was first offered to me, I used to be freaked out. I did not wish to surrender that management, each when it comes to trusting it to do it proper but in addition the work facet.
Many resorts are very ingrained of their methods, and when new software program is launched, there’s a actual worry there about trusting the brand new system. How did you cope with that?
Heidi: At first everybody was freaked out pondering it is was going to trigger overbooking or it is was going to mess issues up within the system. Particularly, through the summer time, that is one of many seasons that made everybody panic a little bit pondering it was going to trigger over bookings, however it does not. The system is simply so sensible that we have not had any points with it in any respect. Everyone loves it.
Jed: I additionally bear in mind when it being offered, the Government Housekeeper was utterly in opposition to turning on early check-ins and late checkouts. They have been actually scared that we weren’t going to have the ability to honor or meet these sort of requests. So, we very slowly turned that characteristic on – which is one other good factor about ROOMDEX is you could introduce it steadily. We shortly realized there have been no points the place we could not accommodate an early check-in and late check-out. Now the housekeeping facet of the home could be very snug with it.
One other advantage of the ROOMDEX “set and overlook it” characteristic is we now can have totally different prices for various upgrades. Once we have been doing it manually, we actually solely had one value. We by no means actually thought, “Effectively, if there’s extra demand, we would even be capable of get a little bit bit extra out of that improve.” There have been instances the place we weren’t as busy and we needed to make the worth extra interesting however we have been caught with simply that one set value that went out on our electronic mail communications. With ROOMDEX, we might value based mostly on demand, and we shortly began getting upsells for twice as a lot as we might usually get. It was, truthfully, wonderful. One that basically stood out to us was an early arrival, I believe it was like a 12 o’clock arrival they usually paid $150. And we checked out it and we mentioned, “Wow, anyone is keen to pay $150 to return test in at 12.” Our minds have been blown.
You are also promoting visitor providers by way of ROOMDEX. Are you able to inform me particularly what you might be promoting?
Heidi: We’re promoting a little bit lavender reward field {that a} native farm places collectively. It contains gadgets like a lavender spray and a lotion. Initially, we have been promoting that by way of the entrance desk, and we barely offered any of these little packages. Now with ROOMDEX we’re promoting these so incessantly, we have already positioned one other order with that little farm – good for them and good for us, and good for the visitor! One other factor that is actually fashionable are cheese plates. These we’re always promoting out. We will hardly sustain with the demand. It has been a high vendor.
What do you suppose you might be including extra ancillary visitor income by way of this technique? What’s it about ROOMDEX that makes folks wish to buy extra?
Jed:
I believe it is as a result of it is very easy on the visitor facet. The best way by which upsells are offered to them are actually easy – clear. With the outdated system, the way in which improve pricing was proven to the visitors was not clear, and we had circumstances the place a visitor would present up on the entrance desk and never notice that there was a cost for the upsell. They’d clicked that they needed it after which they’d get right here and say, “Oh, I did not notice there was an upsell cost,” With ROOMDEX that by no means has occurred. It has actually helped us meet visitor expectations.
Let’s discuss upsell efficiency usually. How has your lodge upsell program efficiency modified?
Jed:
Oh, it is positively improved. The common room improve is double what we have been getting earlier than. Pre- ROOMDEX upgrades got here in someplace round $35. Now we’re getting $70 on these upgrades. It has been fairly spectacular. However, not solely do you get all that however it additionally takes a number of the operational challenges away. So, you are getting the extra income whilst you’re additionally making it simpler in your entrance desk and your crew. It is actually a win-win.
Once we’re in our summer time season, our occupancy for the month may very well be 93%. The chance to improve is smaller however we make up for it within the early arrival and the late checkout income, as a result of even in extremely compressed instances as that also works very, very properly.
However even when occupancy is excessive, the opposite a part of this upselling success has been further income from higher balancing the home – which is not very easy to see within the pure upsell numbers. For instance, once we are in a position to improve visitors to premium rooms a number of days previous to arrival, we unlock these decrease priced rooms for reservations nearer to arrival – which, after all, due to compression, are getting a better value than in the event that they have been offered within the weeks earlier than. So, I believe that delta we see on offered rooms that different visitors have been upsold out of can actually be attributed to ROOMDEX upselling too.
Now that you’ve got had this expertise, what would you say to trade colleagues or hoteliers who may be nervous or uncertain about attempting an upsell automation software program?
Jed:
Primary, it really works. From my very own private expertise, it really works extraordinarily properly. After which I believe the second factor is, the free month trial. That is what obtained me! Once we talked about what it will take to arrange our property administration system interfaces, the setup was – I imply, I do not suppose we needed to do a lot of something. ROOMDEX made it very easy. We obtained to strive it for a month without spending a dime and straight away it began working. If that is nonetheless an choice, I might say “strive it for a month without spending a dime – and in the event you do not prefer it, you do not have to pay something, they flip it off and, , there you go.”
And whereas it’s a very a lot “set it and overlook” system, what I actually like about ROOMDEX, is their consumer providers managers. You may attain out and there are folks there to assist. As soon as we noticed the outcomes they usually have been constantly delivering, we thought “Is there a approach we are able to, tweak some issues and possibly push the restrict a little bit bit extra and actually see the place we are able to go?” We labored with the crew at ROOMDEX who helped us make the modifications they usually mentioned, “We’ll ship you updates on experiences on the way it’s working”. It is clear they need you to succeed simply as a lot as you wish to succeed.
About ROOMDEX, INC
ROOMDEX’s lodge upsell software program, “Improve Optimizer,” automates, monetizes, and in the end simplifies the lodge room improve course of by placing the facility of alternative within the lodge visitor’s arms. Automation is the cornerstone of our pioneering lodge optimization platform. ROOMDEX makes use of lodge reservation, visitor information and its proprietary persona and value algorithms to ship customized digital presents, enormously enhancing the visitor expertise. The lodge upsell device relieves hoteliers of the labor time required by different upselling options whereas delivering excessive margin income and a considerable ROI.
The corporate was based by Jos Schaap, Pierre Boettner and Denis Bajet, three trade veterans (Ex. MICROS-OPERA (now Oracle Hospitality), StayNTouch, Shiji and Nor1) who collectively carry over 90 years of lodge software program innovation expertise in PMS, integrations, income administration, BI, cellular, self-service and improve optimization software program. Since founding in spring of 2020, ROOMDEX has signed on greater than 90 resorts with 8,500 rooms throughout the U.S., U.Okay. and Europe.
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